Friday, May 4, 2012

Ohio Pictures



Pictures from Ohio, and then we're done recounting a trip that is now months ago. I promise even less inspiring comments now, since I am posting this only because I have new pictures to post afterward.

Unfortunately for Ohio, I broke my camera lens in Florida. The day we left Florida, in fact, at something like 5 o'clock in the morning, I dropped my camera on its face, forever and irreparably busting the crap out of my lens. As a result, we have no pictures from Ohio's first week. Well, no, we have this unfocusable picture of Joash standing in the window.


Then Dan took a little trip to Craigslistville and bought me a new lens. This is a collection of road signs he found while testing the lens on his way home.


Co-napping.


So-called camera magic.


It was in Ohio that Joash discovered his love of ribbons.


Pretending to care about crawling. We thought he never would crawl, given his apparent exclusive interest in standing/walking, until one day he started shuffling himself lazily across the floor. Now he's an enthusiastic four-limbed army crawler.


Cool picture of a cool cat.


We took a cousins trip to the Cincinnati Museum Center.


Joah's one, true cousin, Abraham. His unceasing 2-year-old verve makes him nearly impossible to photograph.


Muppet PEZ at the museum. Did you know that PEZ was invented to help people stop smoking? That's why it looks like a lighter.


Automoting.


Drafting.


His very own Auntie Ann(i)e helping him drive.


He is a pearl and a peach.


This was when he wasn't quite sure how he felt about sand. By now he knows how yummy it is and how fun it is to be dirty.


Admiring his Uncle Ben and admiring himself.


Learning about falling. What's up, America? How come there are virtually no activities for infants in any kid-centric places? Nothing for him to do at Universal. Nothing for him to do at the museum. In Korea, you can do whatever you want with your baby, as long as he's dressed in a comforter while he's outside.


Playing in Grandma Jean's wedding present boxes.


Happy, somewhat serendipitous meeting with Matt Mooney at one of our required restaurant visits to Giminetti's.


The kid caught a stateside illness and woke up with these sleepy, sick eyes. So cute.


He took it out on the dog.


Vampire baby shrinking in the sun.


Drinks with Lacy, who he gave his evening cuddles to.


He has a thing for bears.*


Taking stuff out of boxes is a favored activity.


Koreans say that rain is the result of a raspberry blowing baby. Make it rain, son. Make it rain.


Big boy bath!


Quality time with Grandma Jean.


Matrimonial Memaw.

 
Look who thinks he's fancy Dan. This was after Joash had changed for the night, more comfortable for dancing, I suppose.


Blurry cousin fun.

 
A time for photos in the grass and sun because he may not see such as Kentucky Bluegrass for another year.


Our first love replaced. Sorry, Tater.

 
In between grass nibbles.

 
He is always looking for something better to look at.
   
Wrist action.


Boozer. This is what happens when moms aren't looking.


Bonnie is a cat whisperer. See, I hate cats. This cat I tried to make an effort with, giving him food, saying nice things to him. But the second I would stand up, he would throw himself down the stairs and into the basement with all the fury of fear. Bonnie meets him, picks him up and has him purring in seconds. Whatever, Bonnie.


But that's fine, we can still be friends.


Here we are on cookout day. Lunch cookout at the Nimmo house. Dinner cookout at our house, sponsored by Dan's brother. We are twin fiddlers.


Having a laugh.


Secrets and celery. I think celery is nature's teething toy. So, duh, I should really go buy some right now so my kid can stop screaming his head off while he chews relentlessly on things that bust his gums.


Nap on the couch. He makes sucking sounds in his sleep.


One of those new kinds of babies, little Oakleigh.


There is a robot among the Cincinnati skyline.


The start of our United sponsored San Fran vacay.


The culmination of the same.



Hotel bath that ended in travel-weary, time zone confused tears.


Seeing all the sights. And thus concludes the telling of our American tale.













































 *Email me if you want to know what that means (complete with special bonus picture)

9 comments:

  1. Hello Serenity! I had been thinking of you lately, and looked to see if my link to your blog still worked - and well, here we are.

    It looks like you've been a little busy - such a beautiful baby! Love his eyes - you can get lost in them. How long will you be staying in Seoul? I hope you are doing well - it sounds like motherhood suits you very well. Kim Fraley

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  2. Hi Kim! We are busy here, and we like it very much. We'll be staying in Korea for two more years. Dan got a job that he loves that's even in his field of study, and how often does that actually happen?

    I am really enjoying being a mother, and Joash is the sweetest little thing. We wanted to come by Calvary while we were in Ohio last month, but we ran out of time. Maybe during our stateside visit next year!

    I hope things are going well with everyone. I think about you all from time to time. I recognize companies/brands here as customers sometimes, and it's really funny that I still have that information in my brain.

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  3. Oh - so sorry that you have that stuff in your brain! I'm so happy that you're doing what you love to do - and that you guys are content there. Joash will be the only kid in his class that was born in Korea (well, maybe not - but probably!) So I'm betting music got put on a back burner for now? Hope you get a chance to perform now and then.

    As far as stopping by Calvary - you probably wouldn't know half the people! Lots of new folks, lots of growth - all good, but we're all going crazy. (So nothing has changed.)

    Do you keep up with K-pop music there? Know Girls' Generation? Know their new sub-unit TTS? Their new album / single is Twinkle. Brandon & Jamie wrote it - which is very cool. Although I always thought their first big single would be in English....oh well. It's weird to try to track it from here but it seems to be on the top of the charts most everywhere. What do you know of the music biz there?

    Thanks for the reply - stay sane. Babies are wonderful and exhausting. And it really does get easier - promise!

    kf

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  4. I do know about the K-Pop. It's almost impossible not to here. I just watched the Twinkle video. So cool for Brandon and Jamie! K-Pop really needs some better songwriters, too, so this is good for everyone. Haha. Is Jamie still singing with Carrie Underwood?

    We did take a break from playing shows. We did a couple while we were in America, but we actually moved out of Seoul, so we are pretty far from any live music venues now. We live in the "suburbs" on the 18th floor.

    Thanks for the encouragement about babies. They are every paradox, and I couldn't imagine my life without one.

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  5. Yes, they are excited about Twinkle. The videos had over 11 million views in the first week....crazy. Hopefully the sales will be good as well.

    Jamie is still with Carrie. They just finished a media blitz, doing all the day time / night time talk shows. Last night's Dancing with the Stars was the last show, and the Billboard Awards are next weekend. Their tour doesn't start until the fall, so she has a breather for the summer. Connor graduates in two weeks (can't believe it either) and then he is headed to Nashville to Belmont Univ. Doing a BBA in Music Business / Finance Minor. Keeping the music thing going in the family I guess.

    I swear it was yesterday that I was wondering if he was ever going to sleep through the night. And now I wonder the same thing because he stays up til the wee hours of the morning! Enjoy your Joash - every stage he goes through is always the 'best one'!

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  6. Hi Serenity,

    A request for you. Brandon & Jamie have been invited to Seoul to visit the label execs, meet the girls from Girls Gen, and visit some other groups. Do you have any advice for them regarding the culture? Anything they should know before they arrive so they don't embarrass themselves? They are so excited about going!

    Thanks! Kim

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  7. How cool for them! I don't have much experience with superiors since I've never had a job, but I know that within Korean culture, the idea of seniority is very strong. Even still, as obvious foreigners, Dan and I are given a lot of grace. I have no doubt Brandon and Jamie will do just fine being their kind, respectful normal selves, but here are a couple videos they can watch that address hand gestures and some general politeness tips.

    Korean Hand Gestures
    5 Things You Should Not Do in Korea

    If they learn any Korean phrases at all, people will probably be very impressed and grateful. Often Koreans are surprised when people learn their language.

    Hopefully they'll get to come in the fall. Korea's fall season is very beautiful.

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  8. Thankyou! When they went to London, they brought a converter for their appliances, but they still fried their blow dryer, etc. Any suggestions on a currency converter that you've used? Or where to buy one once in Seoul? Gotta have their flat irons!

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    Replies
    1. Kim, sorry for taking so long to reply. We were on vacation and then we had to have a birthday party. The voltage in Korea is 220, compared to America's 120, so if they just plug their straighteners in with an adapter, they will melt. I know they will melt because it happened when Dan's mom came to visit. So, they'll need a converter that can handle 220. I think they might be able to buy one here at either Home Plus or E-Mart.

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